JP2001077773A - Communication method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently utilize communication resources. SOLUTION: A distribution station 1 distributes digital contents in accordance with a request received from a communication terminal 2 by using packet communication. The distribution station 1 first accumulates the request transmitted from the communication terminal 2. Next, any of digital contents whose distribution is demanded by the accumulated request are selected and the selected digital contents are packetized. Then, an address of each communication terminal to which the request for demanding distribution of the digital contents is transmitted is attached to a header of each packet data as a destination and the packet data are distributed in a form of broadcasting by way of a communication satellite 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technology for enabling efficient use of communication resources in a communication service.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various communication services using communication satellites have been proposed. For example, a distribution service that distributes digital content such as music and video through packet communication in response to a request from a user via a communication satellite, and video captured by a user in real time via a communication satellite via a dedicated line A relay service is proposed.

[0003]

By the way, it is expected that the following problems will occur in the above distribution service and relay service.

[0004] (1) Problems expected in the distribution service [0004] If the requested digital content is distributed to the user every time a request is made from the user, a plurality of users may be provided at timing slightly shifted in time, for example. Even if the same digital content is requested from, the digital content must be distributed to each user. That is, the same data must be repeatedly delivered, so that communication resources cannot be used effectively and communication costs increase.

(2) Problems expected in the relay service In order to transmit video in real time, a large-capacity line (or a plurality of lines) capable of communicating large data at high speed is required. It is not preferable to occupy such a line so that a certain user can always use it, from the viewpoint of effective use of communication resources. The burden on the user is large in terms of cost.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technology which enables efficient use of communication resources.

[0007] For example, in a distribution service for distributing digital contents using packet communication, when a plurality of users request the same digital contents at timings shifted from each other, the trouble of repeatedly distributing the same data is eliminated. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to effectively use communication resources and thereby reduce the burden of communication costs on each user.

Further, for example, in a relay service for relaying in real time using circuit switching, by making each user reserve a time zone for using a line, communication resources are effectively used, thereby enabling each user to use An object is to reduce the burden of such communication costs.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a digital content corresponding to a request received from a communication terminal is distributed to the communication terminal using packet communication. Communication method,
A storing step of storing the request transmitted from the communication terminal, a selecting step of selecting any digital content whose distribution is requested by the stored request, and packetizing the selected digital content,
And a distribution step of distributing, in a broadcast format, the address of each communication terminal that has transmitted a request for distribution of the digital content to a header of each packet data as a destination.

Here, the selecting step periodically includes
Among the requests accumulated up to that point, the digital content with the highest distribution request is selected, and a request for distribution of the selected digital content is made.
The request may be deleted from the stored request.

According to this aspect, when the same digital content is requested from a plurality of communication terminals at a timing shifted in time, the contents are added with the addresses of the plurality of communication terminals as destinations of a packet data head. In this way, the content is distributed in a broadcast format. Therefore, the trouble of repeatedly delivering the same data can be saved, and communication resources can be used effectively. This makes it possible to reduce the burden of communication costs on each user.

In the present aspect, the result of multiplying the number of packets of the selected digital content by the communication cost per packet is divided by the number of requests for distribution of the digital content stored so far. The method may further include a charging step of setting the amount obtained in (1) as a communication cost for each communication terminal that has transmitted the request for distribution of the digital content.

[0013] Alternatively, a message receiving step of receiving a digital content reception completion message from the communication terminal, and a result of multiplying the number of packets of the digital content by a communication cost per packet for the digital content distributed in the distribution step. The method may further include a charging step of setting an amount obtained by dividing the number of reception completion messages received for the digital content to a communication cost for each communication terminal that has transmitted the reception completion message of the digital content.

In this manner, the communication cost can be flexibly set so that the more requests increase, the lower the communication cost of the requested content charged to each requesting communication terminal becomes. As a result, communication costs for the communication terminal can be reduced.

In the present aspect, when the request is transmitted from the communication terminal, the storing step multiplies the communication cost per packet by the number of packets when the request converts the digital content requested to be distributed into packets. The result obtained by dividing the result obtained by dividing the number of requests for distribution of the digital content that have been accumulated so far by 1 plus the value obtained as the estimated communication cost required for the distribution of the digital content, A step of presenting to the communication terminal may be provided, and the request from the communication terminal may be stored only when a confirmation message is sent from the communication terminal.

[0016] In this way, the user of the communication terminal can know the approximate communication cost of the content before receiving the provision of the content. Therefore, if another route, such as a one-to-one communication route using circuit switching, is prepared as a content distribution route in addition to a broadcast format route using packet communication, the broadcast format using packet communication is used. By referring to the user of the communication terminal the communication cost when the content is provided by the route according to the above, the user can be made to select the distribution route of the content.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication method for receiving data transmitted from a communication terminal using circuit switching, and relates to a line use time zone for data transmission from the communication terminal. A time zone information receiving step of receiving information; and examining, among a plurality of lines prepared in advance for receiving data transmitted from the communication terminal, a line that is vacant in the line use time zone received in the time zone information receiving step. Presenting the number of vacant lines checked in the vacant line number confirming step and the vacant line number confirming step to the communication terminal that transmitted the information of the line use time zone, and using the number of vacant lines for data transmission from the communication terminal; Receiving information on the number of used lines for receiving information on the plurality of lines prepared for the plurality of previously prepared lines. The use of the number of used lines received in the used line number information receiving step in the used time period is determined by using the line use time zone and the number of used lines received in the time period information receiving step and the used line number information receiving step. And a notifying step of notifying a communication terminal to be reserved of a line number for using the line reserved in the reservation step.

According to this aspect, a plurality of lines prepared in advance for receiving data transmitted from the transmitting terminal can be shared by the plurality of communication terminals. Therefore, communication resources can be used more effectively than when a specific communication terminal is occupied by a specific communication terminal so that it can be always used.

In this embodiment, the amount obtained by multiplying the number of lines reserved in the reservation step by the result of multiplying the communication cost per unit time by the line use time period reserved in the reservation step, is calculated by A charging step for setting the communication cost for the communication terminal to be reserved may be further provided.

By doing so, it is possible to reduce the burden of communication costs on the user as compared with the case where a specific relay line is occupied so as to be always available.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication method for receiving data transmitted from a communication terminal using circuit switching, wherein the communication terminal uses a line usage time zone for data transmission. A request receiving step of receiving a request including information on the number of used lines and the priority or desired amount until the start time of the line use time zone included in the request is within a predetermined time from the current time, and receiving the request in the request receiving step For each request including information on the closed line usage time zone, in order from the highest priority or the highest reference amount, for a plurality of lines prepared in advance to receive data transmitted from the communication terminal, The use of the number of lines used in the request during the line usage time period for which acceptance was A reservation step of repeating a process of reserving for the communication terminal that transmitted the quest until the plurality of preliminarily prepared lines are exhausted in the line usage time slot in which the acceptance has been closed; A notification step of notifying each communication terminal of a line number for the communication terminal to use the line.

In this embodiment, reservations are made in order from the request having the highest priority or the desired amount for the request for use in the same time zone. That is, in the present embodiment, the permission to use the line is auctioned off between the communication terminals.

The billing in this case may be performed as follows. That is, for each communication terminal that has reserved a line in the reservation step, the result of multiplying the reference amount or the amount corresponding to the priority included in the request transmitted by the communication terminal by the line usage time zone, and determining the usage amount included in the request. The amount obtained by multiplying the number of lines may be set as the communication cost for the communication terminal that transmitted the request.

[0024]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

First, the first embodiment of the present invention will be described by taking as an example a case where the present invention is applied to a distribution service for distributing digital contents using packet communication.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a content distribution system to which the first embodiment of the present invention is applied.

As shown, a distribution station 1 for distributing contents and a communication terminal 2 mounted on each mobile unit 4 are interconnected by a satellite communication network via a communication satellite 5.

The communication satellite 5 employs a CDMA (code division multiple access) system, and can relay, for example, a line for 10,000 channels. A line established between each communication terminal 2 and the distribution station 1 by CDMA is used by the communication terminal 2 to transmit data to the distribution station 1.
In addition, the communication satellite 5 also adopts a TDM (Time Division Multiplexing) system, and converts the packetized content data transmitted from the distribution station 1 to each communication terminal 2 in a broadcast format.
Deliver to.

In order to enable the communication terminal 2 to communicate with the distribution station 1, the communication terminal 2 can catch the communication satellite 5 even when the mobile unit 4 is moving, so that the communication terminal 2 can view the communication satellite 5. It is preferable to use a communication satellite 5 having a high rate. As such a communication satellite, there is a long elliptical orbit satellite. The observability of the elliptical orbit satellite is about 98%, and the communication terminal 2 can almost certainly receive the content data distributed by the distribution station 5.

The distribution station 1 distributes digital contents such as video and music to the communication terminal 2 in response to a request from the communication terminal 2.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the distribution station 1 shown in FIG.

As shown in the figure, the distribution station 1 establishes a line with the communication terminal 2 via the communication satellite 5 by CDMA, and receives a request from the communication terminal 2 by a first communication unit 13. The second communication unit 12 for delivering the packetized content data to each communication terminal 2 in a broadcast format via the communication satellite 5 by TDM, and the first and second communication units 13 and 12 perform communication. Antenna 1 for
4 and a distribution unit 11. In addition, the distribution unit 11 includes a request aggregation unit 111, a content processing unit 112,
It includes a billing unit 113 and a content DB (database) 114 for storing digital content such as video and music.

The request totaling unit 111 registers requests received from the communication terminal 2 by the first communication unit 13 in the request log table in the order of reception. In addition, the requests registered in the request log table are totaled, and the names of the requested contents are registered in the request totaling table in descending order of requests.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the contents of the table stored in the request totaling unit 111. FIG. 3 (a)
In the request log table, the ID of the communication terminal that transmitted the request, the name of the target content of the request, and the reception time of the request are registered in the request log table in association with the request reception order. You. Here, the ID of the communication terminal may be sent from the requesting communication terminal 2 together with the request, for example. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3B, the content name and the number of requests are registered in the request aggregation table in ascending order of request.

The request tallying unit 111 includes the second communication unit 1
2 is periodically monitored, and if the second communication unit 12 is in a state where new content data can be distributed (for example, the current communication rate has not reached the maximum communication rate), the request totaling table Obtains the name of the content included in the entry at the top, and then deletes the entry from the request totaling table. In addition, all the entries including the acquired content name are searched from the request log table, and the ID of the communication terminal included in each searched entry is obtained.
Then, each searched entry is deleted from the request log table. Then, the acquired content name and communication terminal ID are passed to the content processing unit 112.

The content processing unit 112 searches the content DB 114 for content data specified by the content name sent from the request tallying unit 111 and copies it. Then, the copied content data is packetized, and the IDs of all the communication terminals sent together with the names of the contents from the request aggregation unit 111 are added to the header of each packet data as a destination and passed to the second communication unit 12. . Further, the number of packets of the content data and the IDs of all the communication terminals are stored in the charging unit 1.
Hand over to 13.

The billing unit 113 includes a content processing unit 112
A communication fee is charged to each communication terminal specified by the ID of the communication terminal sent together with the number of packets of the content data. The communication cost is determined as follows. That is, a predetermined reference amount (communication cost per packet) is multiplied by the number of packets of the content data. The amount obtained in this way is divided by the number of IDs of the communication terminals sent together with the number of packets of the content data. The result is determined as the communication cost to be charged to each communication terminal.

After determining the communication cost to be charged to each communication terminal specified by the communication terminal ID, the charging unit 113 adds the determined communication cost to the communication fee of the corresponding communication terminal entry in the charging table. . FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the contents of the table stored in charging section 113. As shown in the drawing, the ID of the communication terminal and the communication fee are registered in the charging table in association with each other.

As shown in FIG. 6, the distribution unit 11 of the distribution station 1 includes a CPU 61, a memory 62, an external storage device 67 such as a hard disk device and other external storage devices 66, and a keyboard and the like. It is constructed on a computer having a general configuration including an input device 64, an output device 65 such as a display, an external storage device, an input / output device, and an interface 63 for the communication units 12 and 13 shown in FIG. be able to. Here, the request tallying unit 11
1. The content processing unit 112 and the charging unit 113
When the PU 61 executes the program loaded on the memory 62, the process is realized as a process embodied on an electronic computer. In this case, the memory 62 and the external storage devices 66 and 67 are used as various tables provided in the content DB 114 and the request totaling unit 111 and the charging unit 113.

The above-described program for implementing the distribution unit 11 of the distribution station 1 on the computer by being executed by the CPU 61 is stored in the external storage device 67 in advance, and is stored in the memory 62 as necessary. Loaded and CPU6
1 is executed. Alternatively, a portable storage medium 6
8. For example, the program is loaded from a portable storage medium 68 onto the memory 62 via an external storage device 66 that handles a CD-ROM, as needed, and executed by the CPU 61. Alternatively, once installed in the external storage device 67 from the portable storage medium 68 via the external storage device 66, it is loaded from the external storage device 67 onto the memory 62 and executed by the CPU 61 as necessary. .

Next, the communication terminal 2 transmits a request to the distribution station 1 and acquires digital contents such as video and music distributed from the distribution station 1 in response to the request. Then, the obtained digital content is output to the output device 3 including a display, a speaker, and the like.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of the communication terminal 2 shown in FIG.

As shown, the communication terminal 2 has a CDMA
Establishes a line with the distribution station 1 via the communication satellite 5 and sends a request to the distribution station 1; and a broadcast format from the distribution station 1 via the communication satellite 5 by TDM. Communication unit 22 for receiving the packetized content data distributed by the above, and an antenna 24 for the first and second communication units 23 and 22 to communicate with each other.
And a processing unit 21. The processing unit 21 includes a request input unit 211, a data determination unit 212, a content storage unit 213, and a content output unit 214.

The request input unit 211 receives request information including the name of digital content from the user.

The data discriminating unit 212 checks the destination attached to the header of the packet data received by the second communication unit 22 and passes the packet data addressed to the own communication terminal 2 to the data storage unit 213.

The data storage unit 213 stores the data
2 stores the packet data received from the server 2 and assembles them to restore the content data distributed by the distribution station 1.

The data output section 214 is provided for the data storage section 21.
The content data restored in step 3 is converted into a format (for example, an analog signal) suitable for the output device 3 and output to the output device 3.

The processing unit 21 of the communication terminal 2 described above
As shown in FIG. 6, a CPU 61, a memory 62, an external storage device 67 such as a hard disk device or another external storage device 66, an input device 64 such as an input key, and an output device 65 such as a display if necessary. And an external storage device, an input / output device, and an interface 63 with the communication units 22 and 23 shown in FIG. 5, and can be constructed on a computer having a general configuration.

Here, a program for constructing the processing unit 21 of the communication terminal 2 on the computer is stored in the external storage device 67 in advance, loaded on the memory 62 as needed, and executed by the CPU 61. . Alternatively, if necessary, the portable storage medium 6 may be connected via a portable storage medium 68, for example, an external storage device 66 that handles a CD-ROM.
8 is loaded on the memory 62 and executed by the CPU 61. Alternatively, once installed in the external storage device 67 from the portable storage medium 68 via the external storage device 66, the data is loaded from the external storage device 67 onto the memory 62 as necessary, and executed by the CPU 61. You. Further, the mobile agent moves from the distribution station 1 to the communication terminal 2 via the communication satellite 5 via the communication satellite 5, is loaded on the memory 62, and is executed by the CPU 61.

Next, the operation of the content distribution system having the above configuration will be described.

First, the operation of the distribution station 1 will be described.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation flow of the distribution station 1 shown in FIG.

The first communication unit 13 establishes a line with the communication terminal 2 via the communication satellite 5 and receives a request including the ID of the communication terminal 2 and the name of the digital content from the communication terminal 2. And (Step S1001),
This is passed to the request totaling unit 111. In response,
The request tallying unit 111 additionally registers the communication terminal ID and the name of the content included in the request and the reception time of the request in the highest blank entry of the request log table illustrated in FIG. 3A (step S1002). ). Then, the request number of the entry including the content name included in the request in the request totaling table shown in FIG. 3B is incremented by one (step S1003).

Next, the request counting section 111 periodically monitors the state of the second communication section 12 (step S100).
4) It is checked whether the second communication unit 12 is in a state where new content data can be distributed (for example, a state where the current communication rate has not reached the maximum communication rate) (step S1005). If the second communication unit 12 is not in a state where new content data can be distributed, step S100
Return to 1.

On the other hand, when the second communication unit 12 is in a state where new content data can be distributed, the request counting unit 111 obtains the name of the content included in the highest entry in the request counting table. (Step S1006). Next, all the entries including the obtained content name are searched from the request log table, and the ID of the communication terminal included in each searched entry is obtained (step S1007). Then, the name of the content acquired in step S1006 and the ID of the communication terminal acquired in step S1007 are passed to content processing section 112.

In response to this, the content processing section 112
Searches the content DB 114 for content data specified by the content name sent from the request tallying unit 111 and copies it (step S10).
08). Then, the copied content data is packetized, and the IDs of all the communication terminals sent together with the names of the contents from the request aggregation unit 111 are added to the header of each packet data as a destination and passed to the second communication unit 12. . Further, the number of packets of the content data packetized and the IDs of all the communication terminals are passed to the charging unit 113 (step S1009).

The second communication unit 12 includes the content processing unit 11
The packetized content data received from the communication terminal 2 is distributed to each communication terminal 2 via the communication satellite 5 in a broadcast format by TDM (step S1010).

On the other hand, the charging unit 113 charges a communication fee to each communication terminal specified by the communication terminal ID received from the content processing unit 112 (step S10).
11). Specifically, a predetermined reference amount (communication cost per packet) is multiplied by the number of packets of the content data received from the content processing unit 112. The amount obtained in this manner is divided by the number of communication terminal IDs received from the content processing unit 112. The result is determined as the communication cost to be charged to each communication terminal.

Next, when the billing unit 113 determines the communication cost to be charged to each of the communication terminals specified by the communication terminal ID received from the content processing unit 112, the billing unit 113 of the corresponding communication terminal in the billing table shown in FIG. The determined communication cost is added to the communication fee of the entry (step S10).
12).

Next, the request totaling unit 111 deletes the highest entry in the request totaling table, including the name of the content acquired in step S1006 (step S1013). Then, step S1
All entries including the name of the content acquired in step S1006 searched in 007 are deleted from the request log table (step S1014).

The communication fee of each communication terminal registered in the charging table shown in FIG. 4 may be sent to each communication terminal 2 via the communication satellite 5 at regular intervals, or may be mailed. It may be sent to each communication terminal 2 by other means such as.

Next, the operation of the communication terminal 2 will be described.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a flow of the operation of communication terminal 2 shown in FIG.

When the request input unit 211 receives request information including a digital content name from a user (step S2001), the first communication unit 23 establishes a line with the distribution station 1 via the communication satellite 5. Then, a request in which the ID of the own communication terminal 2 is added to the request information received by the request input unit 211 is transmitted to the distribution station 1 (step S2002). After that, the line is disconnected.

On the other hand, the data discriminating unit 212 checks the destination attached to the header of the packet data received by the second communication unit 22, and passes the packet data addressed to the own communication terminal 2 to the data storage unit 213 (step S2003). . In response, the data storage unit 213 stores the packet data received from the data determination unit 212, assembles them, and restores the content data distributed by the distribution station 1 to the own communication terminal 2 (step S2004). ). The data output unit 214 converts the content data restored by the data storage unit 213 into a format (for example, an analog signal) suitable for the output device 3 and outputs the format to the output device 3 (step S2005).

The first embodiment of the present invention has been described above.

According to the present embodiment, the request counting section 111 of the distribution station 1 periodically monitors the state of the second communication section 12. Then, when the second communication unit 12 is in a state in which new content data can be distributed, the content data specified by the name of the content included in the highest entry in the request aggregation table is packetized, and The IDs of all the communication terminals 2 that have issued requests for content data are acquired from the request log table, added to the header of each packet data as a destination, and transmitted in a broadcast format.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, when the same digital content is requested from a plurality of communication terminals 2 at timings shifted from each other, it is possible to save the trouble of repeatedly delivering the same content data.
Therefore, communication resources can be used effectively.

In the present embodiment, the charging unit 113 of the distribution station 1 sets the communication cost for distributing the content data to a predetermined reference amount (communication cost per packet) by adding the number of packets of the content data. Is multiplied by the number of communication terminals to which the content data is to be distributed, and the amount obtained as a result is determined as the communication cost to be charged to each of the communication terminals to be distributed. In this way, the communication cost can be determined flexibly so that the more the number of requests increases, the lower the communication cost of the requested content data to be charged to each requesting communication terminal is. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the cost for the user of the communication terminal.

When 100 packets are required for distributing a certain content, a difference occurs between the delivery time of the first packet and the delivery time of the 100th packet. In the above embodiment, the IDs of the communication terminals attached to the headers of the packets constituting the content are the same, but for example, the communication terminals attached to the headers of the first to 50th packets as the destinations Number of IDs and the 51st to 10th
The number of communication terminal IDs assigned as destinations to the header of the 0th packet may be different. That is, when a request for the content currently being distributed is newly received, the header of each packet data of an undelivered portion in the packet data of the content is
As the destination, the ID of the communication terminal that sent the request
May be added. In this case, since the communication terminal that receives the packet is determined for each packet, charging may be performed for each communication terminal based on the number of distributed packets. In this case, the packet data of the unreceived portion of the communication terminal that has transmitted the request is the packet data of the unreceived portion of the packet data of the content after the distribution of the currently distributed content is completed. Only about
The communication which transmitted the request to each of the packet data of the unreceived portion at the time of distributing the content next time by attaching the ID of the communication terminal which transmitted the request as a destination to the header, or at the next distribution of the content Terminal I
D may be added.

In the above-described embodiment, the communication satellite 5 is, for example, a satellite with a long elliptical orbit and is capable of receiving the content data distributed by the distribution station 5 with the communication terminal 2 almost certainly. It is assumed that communication satellites with a high level will be used. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a communication satellite having a low satellite visibility such as a geostationary satellite may be used. In this case, there is a possibility that the communication terminal 2 cannot catch the communication satellite 5 while moving. Therefore, in such a case, if the content data addressed to the communication terminal 2 itself can be restored by the content storage unit 213, the communication terminal 2
3 to transmit a content completion message to the distribution station 1. Then, the distribution station 1
In step S1011, the amount obtained by dividing the amount obtained by multiplying the predetermined reference amount (communication cost per packet) by the number of packets of the content data by the number of reception completion messages of the content is calculated as The communication cost to be charged to each communication terminal that has transmitted the content reception completion message may be determined.

In the above embodiment, the distribution station 1
After the distribution of the content data (step S in FIG. 7)
1010), the communication cost to each communication terminal 2 of the content data distribution destination is calculated (step S1011 in FIG. 7). However, it may be modified as follows. That is, in FIG.
Receives a request from the communication terminal 5 via the first communication unit 13 (step S1001), and proceeds to step S10
Prior to 02, first, the size (information amount) of the content data to be requested is checked, and the number of packets when the content data is packet-communicated via the second communication unit 12 is determined. Next, the number of requests for the content data of the request target is checked from the request totaling table, and the number of packets obtained by adding 1 to the number of requests and the reference amount (communication cost per packet) and one communication at the current time are determined. Calculate the communication cost per terminal. Then, the calculated communication cost is sent to the communication terminal 2 that transmitted the request via the first communication unit 13. Then, only when a confirmation message is sent from the communication terminal 2, the process proceeds to step S1002.

In this way, the user of the communication terminal 2 can know the approximate communication cost of the content data before receiving the provision of the content.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram of a content distribution system to which the second embodiment of the present invention is applied.

As shown in the figure, in the present embodiment, in the first embodiment, as a route for distributing the content data from the distribution station to the communication terminal, in addition to the satellite communication network via the communication satellite 5, The terrestrial wireless communication line via the installed wireless communication antenna 6 can also be used.

The distribution station 1 ′ according to this embodiment is the first station shown in FIG.
The difference from the distribution station 1 of the embodiment is that, as shown in FIG. 10, a third communication unit 15 connected to a public line network, and a communication switching unit for switching between the second communication unit 12 and the third communication unit 15 115 is added. Further, the communication terminal 2 ′ of the present embodiment is different from the communication terminal 2 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 5 in that the communication terminal 2 ′ is connected to a public network via a wireless communication antenna 6 as shown in FIG. 3 is that a third communication unit 25 is added.

Next, the operation of the content distribution system having the above configuration will be described.

First, the operation of the distribution station 1 'will be described.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a flow of the operation of the distribution station 1 'shown in FIG. Here, the first shown in FIG.
Steps that perform the same processing as the flow of the distribution station 1 of the embodiment are given the same numbers.

The first communication unit 13 establishes a line with the communication terminal 2 via the communication satellite 5 and receives a request including the ID of the communication terminal 2 and the name of the digital content from the communication terminal 2. And (Step S1001),
This is passed to the request totaling unit 111. In response,
The request totaling unit 111 checks the size (information amount) of the content data to be requested using the content DB 114, and obtains the number of packets when the content data is packet-communicated via the second communication unit 12 (step S3001). ). Next, the number of requests for the content data to be requested is checked from the request aggregation table shown in FIG. 3B, and the obtained number of packets and a value obtained by adding 1 to the number of requests and a reference amount (communication cost per packet) Then, the communication cost per communication terminal at the present time is calculated (step S3002). Then, the calculated communication cost is sent to the communication terminal 2 ′ that transmitted the request via the first communication unit 13 (step S3003),
It waits for the designation of the route to be used for receiving the content distribution from the communication terminal 2 '(step S
3004).

If the route specified is a satellite communication network via the communication satellite 5, the processing of steps S1002 to S1014 shown in FIG. 7 is performed (step S3005).

On the other hand, if the specified route is a terrestrial wireless communication line via the wireless communication antenna 6, the request is not registered in the request log table or the request totaling table, and the request is processed by the content processing unit. Hand over to 112. In response, the content processing unit 112 searches the content DB 114 for the content data of the request sent from the request tallying unit 111 and copies it (step S300).
6) and pass it to the third communication unit 15 via the communication switching unit 115.

Upon receiving the content data, the third communication unit 15 establishes a line with the communication terminal that has requested the content data via the public network and transmits the content data (step S3007). The destination of each communication terminal when using a terrestrial wireless communication line is assumed to be registered in advance. The communication cost of the content data when using the terrestrial wireless communication line is charged to the communication terminal by the provider of the public line network (the distribution station 1 may be the provider of the public line network). .

Next, the operation of the communication terminal 2 'will be described.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a flow of the operation of the communication terminal 2 'shown in FIG. Here, steps that perform the same processing as the flow of the communication terminal 2 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 8 are given the same numbers.

When the request input unit 211 receives request information including the name of digital content from the user (step S2001), the first communication unit 23 establishes a line with the distribution station 1 'via the communication satellite 5. Once established, the request information received by the request input unit 211 includes:
The request to which the ID of the own communication terminal 2 is added is transmitted to the distribution station 1
(Step S2002). Then, it waits for the communication cost of the requested content data to be sent from the distribution station 1 '. Then, the transmitted communication cost is displayed on the output device 3 as the communication cost when the communication satellite 5 is used (step S4001). On this occasion,
If the usage fee of the terrestrial wireless communication line (for example, the usage fee per unit time) is notified in advance by the provider of the public line network and registered in the own communication terminal 2 ', the fee is also added to the output device 3. Display. In this way, the information is used as a material for the user to determine whether to use the communication satellite network or the terrestrial wireless communication line.

Next, when the request input unit 211 receives designation of a route to be used from the user (step S4).
002), the first communication unit 23 includes the request input unit 211
Is transmitted to the distribution station 1 (step S4003). After that, the line is disconnected.

On the other hand, the data discriminating unit 212 checks the destination attached to the header of the packet data received by the second communication unit 22 (step S4004), and if the packet data addressed to the own communication terminal 2 is included, Then, the processing of steps S2003 to S2005 shown in FIG. 8 is executed (step S4005).

When a line is established with the distribution station 1 'via the radio communication antenna 6 and content data is received from the distribution station 1' (step S4006), the third communication section 25 changes this. The data is passed to the data output unit 214. In response to this, the data output unit 214 converts the received content data into a format (for example, an analog signal) suitable for the output device 3 and outputs it to the output device 3 (step S4007).

The second embodiment of the present invention has been described.

According to the present embodiment, the user of the communication terminal 2 'can select a route to be used with reference to the expected communication cost prior to the distribution of the content.

Next, as a third embodiment of the present invention, a case where the present invention is applied to a relay service for relaying multimedia data such as video and music photographed by a user in real time using circuit switching will be described. Will be explained.

FIG. 14 is a schematic configuration diagram of a relay system to which the third embodiment of the present invention is applied.

As shown, the relay station 7 and each communication terminal 8
Is a satellite communication network via a communication satellite 9
Interconnected.

The communication satellite 5 employs a CDMA (code division multiple access) system, and can relay, for example, a line for 10,000 channels.

The relay station 7 accommodates a plurality of lines, and allocates a predetermined number of the lines to lines for relaying multimedia data such as video and music transmitted by the communication terminal 8 in real time ( These lines are referred to as relay lines) and the rest are allocated to lines for receiving requests for relay line reservations from the respective communication terminals 8. Then, in accordance with the request from the communication terminal 8, the use time zone of the relay line is determined, and the communication terminal 8 is permitted to use the relay line in the determined time zone.

FIG. 15 is a schematic configuration diagram of relay station 7 shown in FIG.

[0099] As shown in the figure, the relay station 7 establishes a line with the communication terminal 8 via the communication satellite 9 by CDMA and communicates with the communication terminal 8;
The first communication unit 73 includes an antenna 74 for performing communication, and a relay unit 71. Further, the relay unit 71 includes a request totaling / schedule managing unit 711, a billing unit 713,
A use permission unit 714 and a data storage unit 715 are included.

The communication section 73 accommodates a plurality of lines.
A predetermined number of the lines are allocated to the relay lines. The communication unit 73 connects the communication terminal 8 accessed via the relay line to the use permission unit 714. Further, the communication terminal 8 that has accessed via a line other than the relay line is connected to the request totaling / scheduling management unit 711.

Request tabulation / schedule management unit 71
1 receives the desired reservation time slot of the relay line from the communication terminal 8 via the first communication unit 73, and refers to the schedule management table to determine the number of relay lines available in the time slot. 8 and waits to receive the desired number of used relay lines from the communication terminal 8. And
The desired reservation time zone of the relay line and the desired number of used lines received from the communication terminal 8 are registered in the request log table as requests from the communication terminal 8 in the order of reception. In addition, the schedule management table is updated so that the desired number of used relaying lines are reserved in the desired reserved time zone for the communication terminal 8.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the contents of the table stored in the request tallying / scheduling management unit 711. As shown in FIG. 16A, in the request log table, in the order in which the requests are received, the ID of the communication terminal that transmitted the request, the desired reservation time slot and the desired number of relay lines, the number of used lines, and the The reception time is registered in association with the reception time. Each request is assigned a reservation number. Here, I of the communication terminal
D may be sent together with the request from the communication terminal 2 that made the request, for example. Further, as shown in FIG. 16B, a reservation status in which a reservation number and a reservation time zone are recorded for each relay line accommodated by the first communication unit 73 is registered in the schedule management table.

The request totaling / scheduling management section 711 deletes the contents of the schedule management table and the request log table relating to the time zone in the past from the present time, and updates each table.

The charging unit 713 refers to the schedule management table and the request log table shown in FIG. 16 and charges each communication terminal for the communication cost. The communication cost is determined as follows. That is, every time a request is added to the request log table, the desired reservation time of the added request is multiplied by a predetermined reference amount (communication cost per unit time), and the amount obtained in this manner is multiplied by the desired amount. Multiply the number of lines used further. This result is determined as the communication cost to be charged to the communication terminal that has transmitted the added request.

The charging unit 713 has a charging table as shown in FIG. 4, like the charging unit 113 of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 2, and stores the determined communication cost in the entry of the corresponding communication terminal. To be added to the communication fee.

When the access permission unit 714 has access to the line number of the relay line accommodated in the first communication unit 73, the use permission unit 714 refers to the schedule management table and the request log table shown in FIG. It is checked whether or not the terminal 8 is permitted to use the relay line. If permitted, continuation of use of the line is permitted. On the other hand, if not permitted, the line is disconnected.

Note that the first communication unit 73 connects a plurality of lines to one
A multi-link protocol that can be handled as one line is supported, and the use permitting unit 714, when allowing a certain communication terminal 8 to use a plurality of relay lines simultaneously, uses a plurality of relay terminals used by the communication terminal 8. The line numbers of the lines are notified to the first communication unit 73, and control is performed so that the plurality of relay lines specified by these line numbers can be treated as one line.

The data storage unit 715 temporarily stores the data sent from the communication terminal 8 via the relay line, and outputs the data as needed.

As shown in FIG. 6, the relay section 71 of the relay station 7 includes a CPU 61, a memory 62, an external storage device 67 such as a hard disk device, other external storage devices 66, and a keyboard and the like. An interface 6 between an input device 64, an output device 65 such as a display, an external storage device, an input / output device, and a communication unit 73 shown in FIG.
3 can be constructed on an electronic computer having a general configuration. Here, a request tallying / schedule management unit 711, a charging unit 713, a use permission unit 714
Is realized as a process embodied on an electronic computer by the CPU 61 executing a program loaded on the memory 62. In this case, the memory 62 and the external storage devices 66 and 67 store the data storage unit 715, the request totaling / schedule management unit 711, and the charging unit 71.
3 are used as various tables.

The program for implementing the relay unit 71 of the relay station 7 on the computer by being executed by the CPU 61 is stored in the external storage device 67 in advance, and is stored in the memory 62 as necessary. Loaded and CPU6
1 is executed. Alternatively, a portable storage medium 6
8. For example, the program is loaded from a portable storage medium 68 onto the memory 62 via an external storage device 66 that handles a CD-ROM, as needed, and executed by the CPU 61. Alternatively, once installed in the external storage device 67 from the portable storage medium 68 via the external storage device 66, it is loaded from the external storage device 67 onto the memory 62 and executed by the CPU 61 as necessary. .

Next, the communication terminal 8 transmits a request for relay line reservation to the relay station 7 and reserves the relay line. Then, in the reserved time zone, the data input from the input device 32 such as a camera or a microphone is transmitted to the relay station 7 using the reserved number of relay lines.

FIG. 17 is a schematic configuration diagram of the communication terminal 8 shown in FIG.

As shown, the communication terminal 8 has a CDMA
Establishes a line with the distribution station 1 via the communication satellite 5 to transmit a request to the distribution station 1 and an antenna 8 for the first communication unit 83 to communicate with.
4 and a processing unit 81. Further, the processing unit 81 includes a request input unit 811, a reserved line management unit 812, a data input unit 813 that receives data transmitted from the input device 32 such as a camera or a microphone, and a display unit 814.

The request input unit 811 receives a reservation time and the number of reserved lines of a relay line and an instruction to start a relay from the user.

[0115] The reserved line management unit 812
And manages the line number of the relay line received from the relay station 7 via. When the request input unit 811 receives an instruction to start relaying from the user, the request input unit 811 accesses the managed line number and inputs the line number to the data input unit 813 using the relay line specified by the number. The first communication unit 83 is controlled so that the transmitted data is transmitted to the relay station 7.

Note that the first communication unit 83 connects a plurality of lines to one
It supports a multilink protocol that can be handled as one line, and the reserved line management unit 812
When receiving and managing the line numbers of a plurality of relay lines from the relay station 7, the plurality of line numbers are assigned to the first communication unit 73.
, And control so that a plurality of relay lines specified by these line numbers can be treated as one line.

Note that the processing unit 81 of the communication terminal 8 described above
As shown in FIG. 6, a CPU 61, a memory 62, an external storage device 67 such as a hard disk device and other external storage devices 66, an input device 64 such as an input key, an output device 65 such as a display, and an external storage device Interface 6 with devices, input / output devices, and communication unit 83 shown in FIG.
3 can be constructed on an electronic computer having a general configuration.

Here, a program for constructing the processing unit 81 of the communication terminal 8 on the electronic computer is stored in the external storage device 67 in advance, loaded on the memory 62 as necessary, and executed by the CPU 61. . Alternatively, if necessary, the portable storage medium 6 may be connected via a portable storage medium 68, for example, an external storage device 66 that handles a CD-ROM.
8 is loaded on the memory 62 and executed by the CPU 61. Alternatively, once installed in the external storage device 67 from the portable storage medium 68 via the external storage device 66, the data is loaded from the external storage device 67 onto the memory 62 as necessary, and executed by the CPU 61. You. Further, the mobile agent moves from the relay station 7 to the communication terminal 2 via the communication satellite 5, is loaded on the memory 62, and is executed by the CPU 61.

Next, the operation of the relay system having the above configuration will be described.

First, the operation of relay station 7 will be described.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an operation flow of relay station 7 shown in FIG.

When the communication terminal 8 accesses a line number other than the line number of the relay line from the communication terminal 8 (step S5001), after the line is established, the first communication unit 73 sends the request to the request totaling / scheduling management unit 711. Connecting.

In response to this, the request tallying / schedule management unit 711 waits for the communication terminal 8 to transmit the desired reservation time slot of the relay line (step S500).
2) It is checked using the schedule management table whether there is a vacant relay line in the received desired reservation time zone (step S5003). Then, the number of vacant relay lines is transmitted to the communication terminal 8 via the first communication unit 73 (step S5004), and the desired number of relay lines to be used is transmitted from the communication terminal 8. (Step S5005). If there is no available relay line, the communication terminal 8 is notified of the fact, and the process proceeds to step S5002.
Return to and wait for a new desired time slot to be sent.

Next, the request tallying / scheduling management unit 711 calculates the desired reservation time slot of the relay line received in step S5002 and the desired number of relay lines used in step S5005 from the communication terminal 8. A request is additionally registered in the highest blank entry of the request log table shown in FIG. 16A (step S5006). Further, from among the trunk lines available in the desired reservation time zone, the trunk lines for the desired number of lines are secured, and the schedule management table shown in FIG. 16B is updated (step S5007). Then, the line number of the secured relay line is transmitted to the communication terminal 8 via the first communication unit 73 (step S500).
8). After that, the line is disconnected.

Next, the charging section 713 charges the communication terminal 8 (step S5009). Specifically, the desired reservation time of the request added to the request log table in step S5006 is multiplied by a predetermined reference amount (communication cost per unit time), and the amount obtained in this manner is multiplied by the desired use line. Multiply the number further. This result is determined as the communication cost to be charged to the communication terminal 8 that has transmitted the added request. Then, the determined communication cost is added to the communication fee of the communication terminal 8 in the charging table shown in FIG.

On the other hand, when the communication terminal 8 accesses the line number of the relay line from the communication terminal 8 (step S5001), the first communication unit 73 establishes the line and then uses the use permission unit 71.
Connect to 4. Note that, as described above, the first communication unit 73
Supports a multilink protocol that can handle a plurality of lines as one line. Also,
The use permitting unit 714 grasps the reservation status of each relay line at the present time by referring to the schedule management table. If the communication terminal 8 has a plurality of relay lines at this time, The first communication unit 73 is notified of the line number of each of the plurality of relay lines, and is controlled so that the plurality of relay lines specified by these line numbers can be treated as one line. Therefore, when these line numbers are accessed, communication is performed with a plurality of relay lines specified by these line numbers as one line.

Next, the use permission unit 714 waits for the communication terminal ID to be sent from the communication terminal 8 (step S).
5010). Then, by referring to the schedule management table and request log table,
Communication terminal 8 specified by the received communication terminal ID
To check whether or not the relay line used for communication with the communication terminal 8 is reserved (step S50).
11). If reserved, the communication terminal 8 is permitted to use the relay line, and the data transmitted from the communication terminal 8 is stored in the data storage unit 715 (step S5012). When the reserved time zone elapses (step S5013), the relay line in use is disconnected (step S5014). On the other hand, if the reservation has not been made, the communication terminal 8 is notified of the fact, and the relay line in use is immediately disconnected (step S).
5014).

Next, the operation of the communication terminal 8 will be described.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a flow of the operation of communication terminal 8 shown in FIG.

When the request input unit 211 receives a reservation request for a relay line including a desired reservation time zone from the user (step S6001), the first communication unit 83 transmits a line number other than the previously registered relay line. Go to
A line is established with the relay station 7. Then, the desired reservation time zone received by request input section 211 is transmitted to relay station 7 together with the ID of own communication terminal 8 (step S).
6002). Then, it waits for the reception of the number of vacant relay lines in the desired reservation time zone from the relay station 7 (step S6003), and displays the received number of lines on the display unit 814 (step S6004).

Then, when the request input unit 211 receives the desired number of used lines from the user (step S6).
005), the first communication unit 83 transmits the number of lines to the relay station 7 (Step S6006). Next, it waits for the reception of the line number of the reserved relay line from the relay station 7 (step S6007), and stores the received line number together with the desired reservation time zone in the reserved line management unit 812 (step S6007). S6008). After that, the line is disconnected.

On the other hand, when the request input unit 211 receives a relay instruction from the user (step S6001),
The reserved line management unit 812 determines that the current time is in step S600.
It confirms that it is the desired reservation time zone stored in step 8 (step S6009), and then accesses the line number stored in step S6008 to establish a relay line with the relay station 7. Then, after transmitting the ID of the own communication terminal, the data input unit 81 is transmitted using the established relay line.
The data received from the output device 32 in step 3 is transmitted to the relay station 7 (step S6010). As described above, the first communication unit 83 supports a multilink protocol that can handle a plurality of lines as one line. Also, the reserved line management unit 812
In the case of receiving and managing the line numbers of a plurality of relay lines from, the plurality of line numbers are notified to the first communication unit 73, and the plurality of relay lines specified by these line numbers are assigned to one line. Control so that it can be handled as a line.

The third embodiment of the present invention has been described.

According to the present embodiment, the request totaling / scheduling management section 711 follows the request from the communication terminal 8 including the use time period of the relay line and the number of used lines, and in the time period, the request number / schedule management section 711 Reserve a trunk line,
The communication terminal 8 is notified of the line number of the reserved relay line. Further, the use permission unit 714 allows the communication terminal 8 to use the reserved relay line only during the reserved time zone.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to make each communication terminal 8 reserve a time zone for using the relay line. Therefore, compared to a case where a specific relay line is occupied by a specific communication terminal 8 so that it can always be used,
Communication resources can be used effectively.

Further, in the present embodiment, the charging unit 713
Is a result of multiplying the desired reservation time by a predetermined reference amount (communication cost per unit time) as a communication cost for data relay, and further multiplying the obtained amount by the desired number of used lines. Is determined as the communication cost charged to the communication terminal that transmitted the request. By doing so, it is possible to reduce the burden of communication costs on the user as compared with the case where a specific relay line is occupied so as to be always available.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described.

In the third embodiment, the reservation of the relay line is recognized in the order of the early reception of the request. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, for each time slot, a reservation request for a trunk line to which a priority is given is received until a predetermined time before the time slot is disclosed, and a request is given from among the received reservation requests. The reservation of the relay line is allowed in descending order of priority.

The structure of the relay system of the present embodiment is the same as that of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 14, and the relay station 7 and the communication terminal 8 of the relay system of the present embodiment are Since it is the same as that of the third embodiment shown in FIGS. 15 and 17, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 20 is a flow chart showing the operation of the relay station 7 in the present embodiment. Here, steps that perform the same processing as the flow of the relay station 7 of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 18 are given the same numbers.

When the communication terminal 8 accesses a line number other than the line number of the relay line from the communication terminal 8 (step S5001), the line is established and then the request totaling / schedule management unit 711 Connecting.

In response to this, the request tallying / scheduling management unit 711 waits for a request including the desired reservation time zone of the relay line, the desired number of used lines, and the priority from the communication terminal 8. (Step S7001).
Then, it is checked whether or not the request for the desired reservation time zone included in the received request has been closed (step S7002). Specifically, by checking whether or not the start time of the desired reservation time zone included in the request is within a predetermined time from the current time, it is determined whether the application for the request for the desired reservation time zone has been closed. Find out. If the deadline has already been closed, it is notified that the request for the desired reservation time slot has been closed (step S7003), and then the line with the communication terminal 8 is disconnected. On the other hand, if the deadline has not yet been closed, the request is accepted, and additionally registered in the highest blank entry of the request log table (step S7004), and then the line with the communication terminal 8 is disconnected. At this time, as shown in FIG. 21, the priority added to the request is registered instead of the reception time in FIG.

Next, when a new requested time slot for which the request is closed is newly generated (step S7005), the request tallying / scheduling management section 711 requests requests including the time slot in the entry in descending order of priority. It is extracted from the log table, reserves a relay line according to the extracted request, and registers it in the schedule management table shown in FIG. 16B (step S70).
06). This is repeated until there is no vacancy in the relay line in the time zone. Then, the communication terminal 8 that has reserved the relay line is notified of the line number of the reserved relay line (step S7007).

Next, the charging unit 713 determines in step S700
In step S7008, the communication terminal 8 that has registered the reservation in the schedule management table is charged (step S7008). At this time, the priority of the request transmitted by the communication terminal 8 is checked using a request log table, and a reference amount (communication cost per unit time, the higher the priority, the higher the priority) according to the priority. ) To determine the communication cost.

On the other hand, when the communication terminal 8 accesses the line number of the relay line (step S5001), the first communication section 73 performs the processing of steps S5010 to S5014 shown in FIG. 18 (step S700).
9).

FIG. 22 shows a communication terminal 8 according to the present embodiment.
3 is a flow chart showing the operation of FIG. Here, the third line shown in FIG.
Steps that perform the same processing as the flow of the communication terminal 8 of the embodiment are given the same numbers.

When the request input unit 211 receives a request for a relay line reservation including a desired reservation time zone, a desired number of used lines, and a priority from the user (step S8001), the first communication unit 83 sets the A line number other than the registered relay line is accessed to establish a line with the relay station 7. Then, the received request is transmitted to relay station 7 together with the ID of own communication terminal 8 (step S8002), and then the line is disconnected.

Further, the first communication unit 83 establishes a line with the relay station 7, and receives the line number of the reserved relay line from the relay station 7 (step S800).
3) The received line number is stored in the reserved line management unit 812 together with the desired reservation time zone included in the request received in step S8001 (step S80).
04).

On the other hand, when the request input unit 211 receives a relay instruction from the user (step S8001),
Step S6009 to Step S6010 shown in FIG.
(Step S8005).

As described above, the fourth embodiment of the present invention has been described.

In the above embodiment, the communication terminal 8
Transmits a request for relay line reservation including the desired reservation time zone, the desired number of used lines, and the priority to the relay station 7, but instead of the priority, the user of the communication terminal 8 The request may be transmitted to the relay station 7 including the desired reference amount (communication cost per unit time per line) set by the user. Then, the relay station 7 may reserve a relay line according to the request in the order of the desired reference amount in descending order of the request for the time slot in which the recruitment is closed. At this time, charging for the communication terminal 8 for which the trunk line is reserved is performed based on the desired reference amount included in the request transmitted by the communication terminal.

By doing so, for example, before the communication terminal 8 transmits the request, the communication terminal 8 requests the request in the time slot for which the reservation is desired (the request including the request including the time slot in the entry). (You can know by extracting from the request log table.)
Is received from the relay station 7 (for example, a function as a WWW server is added to the relay station 7 and the communication terminal 8
), A function as a WWW browser is added, and the relay station 7 publishes a request solicitation status in each time zone),
The user of the communication terminal 8 can know how much a desired reference amount needs to be presented in order to make a reservation in a desired time zone, and the user of the communication terminal 8 increases the desired reference amount. As a result, the relay line can be auctioned off.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above.

In each of the embodiments described above, the communication satellite is used for communication. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can be widely applied to the case where other communication networks are used.

[0155]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A communication system capable of efficiently using communication resources can be constructed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a content distribution system to which a first embodiment of the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a distribution station 1 shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the contents of a table stored in a request tallying unit 111 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the contents of a table stored in a charging unit 113 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a communication terminal 2 shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a device configuring a system according to each embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation flow of the distribution station 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation flow of the communication terminal 2 in the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram of a content distribution system to which a second embodiment of the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram of a distribution station 1 'shown in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram of a communication terminal 2 ′ shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing an operation flow of a distribution station 1 ′ according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an operation flow of a communication terminal 2 ′ in the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a schematic configuration diagram of a relay system to which a third embodiment of the present invention has been applied.

15 is a schematic configuration diagram of a relay station 7 shown in FIG.

16 is a diagram showing the contents of a table stored in a request tallying / schedule management unit 711 in FIG.

17 is a schematic configuration diagram of the communication terminal 8 shown in FIG.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an operation flow of the relay station 7 according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 shows a communication terminal 8 according to the third embodiment of the present invention.
It is a flowchart which shows the flow of operation | movement.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a flow of operation of the relay station 7 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing contents of a request log table stored in a request totaling / scheduling management unit 711 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 shows a communication terminal 8 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
It is a flowchart which shows the flow of operation | movement.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 1 '... distribution station 2, 2', 8 ... communication terminal 3, 65 ... output device 4 ... mobile body 5, 9 ... communication satellite 6 ... radio communication antenna 11 ... Distribution unit 12, 22 ... Second communication unit 13, 23, 73, 83 ... First communication unit 14, 24, 74, 84 ... Antenna 15, 25 ... Third communication unit 21, 81 ... processing unit 32, 64 ... input device 61 ... CPU 62 ... memory 63 ... interface 66, 67 ... external storage device 68 ... storage medium 71 ... Relay unit 111 Request requesting unit 112 Content processing unit 113, 713 Billing unit 114 Content DB 115 Communication switching unit 211, 811 Request input unit 212 Data discriminator 213: Content storage Unit 214: Content output unit 711: Request aggregation / schedule management unit 714: Use permission unit 715: Data storage unit 812: Reserved line management unit 813: Data input unit 814 ... Display

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Seiji Ukai 4-6-6 Kanda Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Inside the Hitachi, Ltd. Systems Division (72) Inventor Satoshi Sugawara 4-6-6 Kanda Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Co., Ltd. F-term in Hitachi Nuclear Power Division (reference) 5K030 GA08 GA20 HA01 HB17 HD09 JA05 KA21 LD07 5K067 AA21 AA29 CC08 CC14 DD17 DD29 EE02 EE07 FF02 GG01 HH23 9A001 CC02 JJ71 KK56

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A communication method for distributing digital content according to a request received from a communication terminal to the communication terminal using packet communication, comprising: a storage step of storing a request transmitted from the communication terminal; A selection step of selecting any of the digital contents requested to be distributed by the stored request; and a request for packetizing the selected digital contents and requesting distribution of the digital contents as a destination in a header of each packet data. A distribution step of attaching an address of each communication terminal that has transmitted the broadcast, and distributing the broadcast in a broadcast format. 2. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein the selecting step includes periodically, in the requests accumulated up to that time,
Select the digital content with the highest distribution request,
A communication method comprising: deleting a request for distribution of the selected digital content from the stored requests. 3. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein a result of multiplying the number of packets of the selected digital content by a communication cost per packet is used to store the digital content of the selected digital content. A communication method, further comprising a charging step of setting an amount obtained by dividing by the number of requests for distribution to a communication cost for each communication terminal that has transmitted the request for distribution of the digital content. 4. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein: a message receiving step of receiving a digital content reception completion message from a communication terminal; and a digital content packet of the digital content distributed by the distribution step. The result obtained by dividing the number by the communication cost per packet by the number of reception completion messages received for the digital content is used as the communication cost for each communication terminal that has transmitted the reception completion message for the digital content. A communication method, further comprising a charging step for setting. 5. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein, when a request is transmitted from a communication terminal, the request packetizes digital content requested to be distributed. The result obtained by multiplying the result of multiplying the communication cost per packet by the number of packets in the above case by the value obtained by adding 1 to the number of requests for distribution of the digital content stored so far is calculated as A step of presenting to the communication terminal as an estimated amount of communication cost required for distribution of the digital content, and storing a request from the communication terminal only when a confirmation message is sent from the communication terminal. Communication method to be used. 6. A communication device for distributing digital content in response to a request received from a communication terminal to the communication terminal using packet communication, comprising: a digital content database storing the digital content; and a transmission from the communication terminal. Storing means for storing the requested request; selecting means for selecting one of the digital contents requested to be distributed by the request stored by the storing means, and copying the digital content from the digital content database; The digital content copied by the selecting means is packetized, and the header of each packet data is set as a destination,
A communication device comprising: a delivery unit that attaches an address of each communication terminal that has transmitted a request for distribution of the digital content and distributes the content in a broadcast format. 7. A communication system comprising at least one communication terminal and the communication device according to claim 6, wherein the communication terminal transmits a request for distribution of digital content to the communication device. A transmitting unit, a receiving unit that receives packet data distributed in a broadcast format from the communication device, and checks a destination attached to a header of the packet data received by the receiving unit, and obtains a destination addressed to the own communication terminal. Means for restoring digital content from the acquired packet data. 8. A communication method for receiving data transmitted from a communication terminal using circuit switching, comprising: a time zone information receiving step of receiving information on a line usage time zone for data transmission from the communication terminal. Out of a plurality of lines prepared in advance for receiving data transmitted from the communication terminal, a line number confirmation step of examining a line that is vacant in the line use time period received in the time period information receiving step; The number of available lines checked in the line number confirmation step is presented to the communication terminal that has transmitted the information of the line use time zone, and the information on the number of lines used for data transmission is received from the communication terminal. And a step of, for the plurality of previously prepared lines, in the line use time period received in the time period information receiving step. The communication terminal that has transmitted the information on the line usage time zone and the number of used lines received in the time zone information receiving step and the used line number information receiving step, using the number of lines used for the number of used lines received in the used line number information receiving step. A communication method, comprising: a reservation step of making a reservation for the above, and a notification step of notifying a communication terminal to be reserved of a line number for using the line reserved in the reservation step. 9. The communication method according to claim 8, wherein the result of multiplying the communication time per unit time by the line use time reserved in the reservation step by the number of lines reserved in the reservation step. A communication method, further comprising a charging step of setting the obtained amount as a communication cost for the communication terminal to be reserved. 10. A communication method for receiving data transmitted from a communication terminal using circuit switching, comprising: a line use time zone, the number of used lines, a priority, or a desired amount for data transmission from the communication terminal. A request including information on the request, the request receiving step until the start time of the line use time period included in the request is within a predetermined time from the current time, and the line use time period of which reception was closed in the request receiving step. For each request that contains information,
For the lines prepared in advance to receive the data transmitted from the communication terminal in order from the one with the highest priority or the reference amount, the use included in the request in the line use time zone in which the acceptance was closed. A process of reserving the use of lines for the number of lines for the communication terminal that transmitted the request until the plurality of lines prepared in advance in the line use time period for which the acceptance has been closed runs out of space. And a notifying step of notifying each communication terminal that has reserved a line in the reservation step of a line number for the communication terminal to use the line. 11. The communication method according to claim 10, wherein each of the communication terminals that have reserved the line in the reservation step has a line amount corresponding to a reference amount or an amount corresponding to the priority included in the request transmitted by the communication terminal. As a result of spending time,
A communication method, further comprising a charging step of setting an amount obtained by multiplying the number of use lines included in the request as a communication cost for the communication terminal that transmitted the request. 12. A communication device for receiving data transmitted from a communication terminal by using circuit switching, wherein said time period information receiving means receives information on a line use time period for data transmission from the communication terminal. Vacant line number checking means for examining, among a plurality of lines prepared in advance for receiving data transmitted from the communication terminal, lines vacant in the line use time period received in the time period information receiving step, The number of available lines checked by the number-of-lines checking means is presented to the communication terminal that has transmitted the information on the line usage time zone, and the information on the number of used lines for data transmission is received from the communication terminal. Means, for the plurality of lines prepared in advance, receiving the used line number information in the line use time period received by the time period information receiving means. The use of the number of lines used by the means accepted by the means is reserved for the communication terminal which has transmitted the information on the line use time and the number of lines used by the time zone information receiving means and the number of used lines information accepting means. A communication apparatus comprising: a reservation unit; and a notifying unit that notifies a communication terminal to be reserved of a line number for using a line reserved by the reservation unit. 13. A communication apparatus for receiving data transmitted from a communication terminal by using circuit switching, wherein the communication terminal uses a line for data transmission, a number of used lines, a priority, or a desired amount. Request receiving means for receiving a request including information on the line usage time zone included in the request until the start time of the line usage time zone is within a predetermined time from the current time, and a request of the line usage time zone whose reception has been closed by the request receiving means. For each request including information, in order from the highest priority or the highest reference amount, for a plurality of lines prepared in advance to receive the data transmitted from the communication terminal, the line use time period in which the acceptance was closed. Use of the number of used lines included in the request in the request of the communication terminal that transmitted the request. A reservation unit that repeats the process of making a reservation to the plurality of previously prepared lines in the line use time period in which the reception has been closed until there is no more available space. A communication unit for notifying a line number for the terminal to use the line.